She is the fourth ship of the Italian Navy to be named after the 19th century Italian General Giuseppe Garibaldi. All four ships, including the missile cruiser, together with an image of Garibaldi, are depicted in the crest.

The ship is powered by four FiatCOGAGgas turbines built under license from GE, offering a sustained power of 81,000 hp (60 MW). Driving two shafts the ship has a maximum speed of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) and can travel for 7,000 nautical miles (13,000 km; 8,100 mi) at around 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph).

Her air-arm consists of a maximum sixteen AV-8B Harrier IIs and 2 search and rescue helicopter, or eighteen Agusta helicopters or a mix of helicopters and fighters. The flight-deck is the characteristic off-axis design with 4 degrees ski-jump for STOL aircraft, it is 174 m (571 ft) long and 30.4 m (100 ft) wide.

A 1937 law gave control of all national fixed-wing air assets to the Italian Air Force and only helicopters were permitted to the navy, therefore at the time of her launch she did not receive her Harriers, and she was classed as Incrociatore portaeromobili (Italian for Aircraft carrying cruiser). Until 1988 only Italian helicopters landed on her deck, as well as Royal Navy Sea Harriers during NATO joint maneuvers. This ban on Italian naval fixed-wing aircraft was lifted in 1989, and the Italian Navy received fixed-wing Harrier II fighters to fly from the Giuseppe Garibaldi.[3]

In 2009 Giuseppe Garibaldi was joined as the flagship of the Italian navy by the new and larger carrier Cavour.

Giuseppe Garibaldi and the US aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman operate near each other in the Atlantic Ocean while participating in Majestic Eagle 2004, a multinational war exercise conducted off the coast of Morocco.

In 1999 with the Kosovo War in the Balkans, Italy committed Harrier AV-8B II+ fighters embarked aboard Giuseppe Garibaldi, from 13 May to early June 1999. The planes carried out 30 sorties in 63 hours of flight. The planes used Mk 82 GBU-16 bombs and AGM-65 Maverick missiles. The Italian naval force in addition to the aircraft carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi, with its air group, included the Maestrale-class frigate Zeffiro.

Following the attacks of 11 September 2001 and the war on terror declared by U.S. President Bush, Italy participated in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Giuseppe Garibaldi was engaged as the command ship of GRUPNAVIT I, 1 Italian Shipping Group, which also included Zeffiro, the patrol team and the airman supplier in Etna. The group set sail from Taranto on 18 November 2001. They trained in the Indian Ocean from 3 December 2001 to 1 March 2002 and returned to Taranto 18 March 2002. During the mission, the AV-8B Harrier unit carried out 288 missions for a total of 860 hours of flight. Tasks carried out included interception/interdiction, sea and air support, and aircraft interdiction in Afghanistan.

A Marina Militare TAV-8B Harrier II aboard Giuseppe Garibaldi

Participating in the 2011 military intervention in Libya after the transfer of authority to NATO and the decision to participate in strike air-ground operations, the Italian government assigned under NATO command four Italian Navy AV-8B plus (from Garibaldi) in addition to Italian air force aircraft.[4] As of 24 March, the Italian Navy was engaged in Operation Unified Protector with the light aircraft carrier Garibaldi, the Maestrale-class frigate Libeccio and the auxiliary ship Etna.[5] Additionally the Orizzonte-class frigate Andrea Doria and Maestrale-class frigate Euro were patrolling off the Sicilian coast in an air-defence role.[6][7] In total, until the end of the mission in Libya, the eight Italian Navy AV-8Bs flying from the carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi dropped 160 guided bombs during 1221 flight hours.[8]